Serena Williams fined for her US Open tirade at line judge

New York, Nov. 30(ANI): American tennis star Serena Williams has been fined 175,000 dollars for her ugly tirade at a line judge at Flushing Meadows, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced.

The ITF said that any further offence at a grand slam in the next two years would see her suspended from the US Open in 2010, 2011, or 2012. The fine will be reduced to 82,500 dollars if she commits no further major offence until 2011, The Telegraph reported.

Williams had lost her cool after being foot-faulted during her US Open semi-final defeat by Kim Clijsters. She unleashed a tirade on the line judge, briefly walked away and then returned for another blast at the line judge.

The incident saw her receiving a point penalty for a second code violation, thus handing the semi-final match to Clijsters 6-4, 7-5. illiams was unrepentant about the incident even during her post-match press conference as well, where she claimed that she did not remember what she had said to the line judge.

Williams was initially fined 10,000 dollars by the US Open organisers for her outburst. (ANI)

Federation Cup: Holders Mohun Bagan clubbed with Mahindra United

New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) Defending champions Mohun Bagan have been clubbed with Mahindra United in the Federation Cup football tournament and will start their campaign Dec 21 against a qualifier in Guwahati.

Sixteen teams have been divided in four groups for the final round of the tournament that will be played simultaneously in Guwahati and Silchar.

Mohun Bagan, Mahindra, Chirag United are in Group B with a qualifier. 2007 champions East Bengal, JCT, Salagaocar and Viva Kerala are in Group A.

I-League champions Churchill Brothers are in Group C and will play their matches in Silchar. They have been clubbed with Sporting Clube de Goa, Mumbai FC and a qualifier.

Chuchill will play their first match against the qualifier Dec 21.

Dempo Sports Club, Air India, Shillong Lajong FC, Pune Football Club are in Group D and will play their matches in Guwahati.

Grouping:

GROUP A: East Bengal Club, JCT, Salgaocar Sports Club, Viva Kerala

GROUP B: Mohun Bagan AC, Mahindra United, Chirag United SC, qualifier (Assam)

GROUP C: Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube De Goa, Mumbai Football Club, qualifier (Mumbai)

GROUP D: Dempo Sports Club, Air India, Shillong Lajong FC, Pune Football Club

Fixture:

Group A (Silchar):

Dec 22: East Bengal V/s Viva Kerala; JCT V/s Salgaocar

Dec 24: Viva Kerala V/s JCT; Salgaocar SC V/s K. East Bengal

Dec 27: East Bengal C V/s JCT; Viva Kerala V/s Salgaocar

GROUP B (Guwahati):

Dec 21: Mohun Bagan AC V/s Qualifier Group 2; Mahindra United V/s Chirag United

Dec 23: Chirag United SC V/s M. Mohun Bagan; Qualifier Group 2 V/s Mahindra United

Dec 26: Chirag United V/s Qualifier Group 2; Mahindra United V/s M. Mohun Bagan AC

GROUP C (Silchar)

Dec 21: Churchill Brothers v/s Qualifier Group 1; Sporting Clube de Goa V/s Mumbai FC

Dec 23: Mumbai FC V/s MP Churchill Brothers; Qualifier Group 1 V/s Sporting Clube de Goa

Dec 26: Mumbai FC V/s Qualifier Group 1; Churchill Brothers V/s Sporting Clube de Goa

GROUP D (Guwahati)

Dec 22: Dempo SC V/s Pune FC; Air India V/s Shillong Lajong FC

Dec 24: Shillong Lajong FC V/s Dempo SC; Pune FC V/s Air India

Dec 27: Shillong Lajong FC V/s Pune FC; Dempo SC V/s Air India

Dec 30: First semi-final winner Group C v/s winner Group D

Dec 31: Second semi-final winner Group A v/s winner Group B

Jan 3: Final

The kick-off time of group matches will be at 3.30 PM and 06.00 PM

The kick-off time of Semi-Finals and the Final will be at 05.00 PM

AIFF asks Zee Sports to clear Rs.100 mn in dues

New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Monday asked its marketing and broadcasting partners Zee Sports to clear dues amounting to Rs.100 million.

AIFF met Zee Sports officials here and asked them to immediately clear the payments pending since April.

The non-payment of dues have been a problem for the AIFF, which has an annual budget of Rs.230 million.

A top AIFF official told IANS, that the federation is heavily dependent on Zee as they pay the sports body Rs.200 million every year.

'We have asked them to clear the dues immediately and they have assured us that it will be done soon. I am confident that they will honour the contract,' the official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

AIFF has a 10-year contract with Zee Sports till 2014.

The official also said that Zee Sports has agreed to telecast live all the Federation Cup matches in Guwahati.

Sri Lanka team practices ahead of final Test match in Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov.30 (ANI): Touring Sri Lankan cricket team practiced here on Monday ahead of the third and final test match to be played on Wednesday (December 2).

The team members underwent stretching up exercises in Brabourne stadium owned by Cricket Club of India (CCI), where the match will be played.

The preparations are like any other test match. It has been going on for the past one month, ground is looking green, the wicket is being tendered too, we are ready for the test match. The pitch is anybody's guess, the tradition of pitch is that it is a good sporting pitch, result oriented pitch and hopefully we will see a result, Milind Rege, CCI secretary told reporters.

India leads the series 1-0 after thumping Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in last week's second test in Kanpur.

But the chances of beating the Sri Lankans have already suffered a blow with in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, the world's top-ranked batsman, pulling out of the match to attend his sister's wedding.

Though Sri Lankans cannot win the series, they are eying their own slice of history and are putting their faith in spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sri Lanka never won a test on Indian soil and the form of Muralitharan remains a real cause of concern with the world record holder managing just five wickets at a cost of 396 runs. (ANI)

Is it splitsville for Michael Clarke, Lara Bingle?

London, November 29 (ANI): Australian cricketer Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle have reportedly decided to part ways.

Apparently, the two are unable to reconcile with each other's high-profile careers.

Grazia magazine reported: The fairytale romance of Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke is coming to an end.

Seemingly, the decision was reached after Bingle arrived in Brisbane to meet Clarke who was busy playing the match against the West Indies, reports News.com.au.

Clarke is reportedly unhappy with his fiancee spending more time around Sydney fashion circles. (ANI)

Chinese football, a source of shame for its fans for years

Beijing, Nov 30(ANI): In spite of conquering every sport played the world over, China's performance in football has been a source of shame for its fans for years, with the national team dangling between Cuba and Albania to be ranked 97th in the world.

According to reports, corruption, match-fixing and illegal betting has poisoned Chinese football and overwhelms the professional league, which is forcing fans and players at every level of the game to abandon it in disgust.

The authorities are also taking a note of the situation of the game in China, and now Chinese President Hu Jintao has also stepped into the fray, allowing Politburo member Liu Yandong to say publicly that China's top leader is very concerned about the state of the game in the country.

Following the response, the police also claimed that they arrested 16 players, coaches, and minor officials accused of match-fixing and betting scams.

However, Xu Guoqing, a sports historian at Hong Kong University, is skeptical about the efforts.

To solve the soccer problem in China you need the rule of law and an independent judiciary. Chinese leaders seem quite serious about fixing this, but there is no way they can under the present regime, The Christian Science Monitor quoted Guoqing, as saying.

China did not make it to the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa, and they were not one of the top ten teams in Asia. (ANI)

Pal says Christine Bleakley's romance with Lamps blossoming

London, Nov.30 (ANI): Television host Christine Bleakley and Frank Lampard's romance is blossoming, claims her pal Amanda Holden.

According to The Mirror, Amanda got to know about the blossoming romance during a girly night out with her best mate.

She is playing it really slow because it really is very early days. They're having a lot of phone conversations and getting to know each other, Amanda said.

One Show host Christine and Frank, who are to spend Christmas together, met at the Mirror's Pride of Britain awards in October. (ANI)